Printing telegraphy



May 12, 1925. 1,537,745

W. M. BRUCE, JR

PRINT ING TELEGRAPHY Filed Feb'. 12, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 12, 1925.y W. M. BRUCE, JR

PRINTING TELEGRAPHY Filed Feb. 12. 1921 Fig.2 7v b b o o o 0 GOO 000 Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo OO O O0 OO O 0 O O O O O 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented May 12, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MANSFIELD BRUCE, JR, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

PRINTING TELEGRAPHY.

Application filed February 12, 1921.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. Barron, Jr., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Springfield, in the county, of Clark and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PrintingTelegraphy, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to improvements in telegraphy and particularlyrelates to improvements in the method of operating printing devices overelectric conductors so that the message is received in printed form.

In printing telegraphy as now employed it is customary to providerotating distributors in connection with transmitters and receiverswhereby certain combinations of elec tric impulses are transmitted overthe connecting conductor to operate mechanism at the receiving stationwhich will determine the desired letter and print the same, one rotationof the distributors being usually employed for each letter. Letterspacing, that is the spacing between letters, is generally automaticallyperformed in the actof printing the letter. For word spacing, however,it has been usual and necessary under the present systems to transmitover the conductor impulses for the word spacing similar in kind andemploying the same element of time (that is, one distributor revolution)as for letter printing so that the time occupied in setting up andprinting a word of four or five letters and properly spacing the same isincreased to 25, per cent of the actual time necessary to transmit andprint the letters forming the word. In operating over lines ofhighcapacity such as submarine cables where the number of impulses which canbe passed through the conductor is limited, this loss'of time in spacingbetween words becomes very important.

My invention has for its-object the saving of this time in word spacingby providing a method-of automatically operating the word-spacingmechanism between words without the necessity of transmitting thisadditional combination of elements by the extra revolution of thedistributor.

I accomplish this object primarily by providing for an additionalimpulse at the beginning of the letter which constitutes the end or thebeginning of a. word so that this impulse becomes in effectsubstantially a part of the letter combination, and I so time Serial No.444,531.

this impulse that the word spacing is accomplished between words by thesame automat- 10 action and within the same limit of time as is nownecessary to select and print the letter which has been selected (at thebeginn ng or at the end of the word), thereby providing means forincreasing the speed of ordlnary printing telegraph from 20 to I percent over the known methods of operating devices of this character nowin use, partlcularly over lines of high capacity.

Inasmuch as my invention may be applied to many of the systems alreadyin use, I have illustrated myinventionlargely diagrammatic viewsillustrating the methods, circuits and devices employed for carrying outthe invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the method of transmittingand receiving impulses to produce automatic word spacing when used. inconnectionwith or applied to systems of printing telegr'aphy now in use.

Fig. 2 isa view of the transmitting tape showing an arrangement of thepunching or transmitting openings for sending the extra impulse inconnection with the letter combination at the point where the wordspacing is to be applied.

Fig, 3 is a modification in the said drawings, a represents the usualdistributor at the sending station and b shows a similar distributor atthe receiving station.

It will be understood that these distributors are provided with any ofthe usual methods for synchronizing.

' I have illustrated my improvement to operate in connection with anordinary five unit system having the usual five code bars and code barrelays to set up the necessary type for printing and in a system of thischaracter I- add an extra contact segment to the distributors, makingsix contact segments which are shown in the drawings as numbered from 1to 6.

In order to send and properly time the extra impulse for operating theword spacing mechanism, I, supply means for applying to the transmitteran extra impulse which will preferably be impressed upon the distributorwhen the distributor brush is on segment No. 1 and I preferablyaccomplish this by punching in the transmitting tape an extra hole hwhich willfoccur at (and preferably in) the same combination which setsup the letter at the point where the word spacing is to take place: thatis, at the end of the word or the beginning of a subsequent word and asI preferably so arrange the circuits and devices that the impulses fromthe transmitting opening is sent to the sending distributor when thedistributor brush is on the first segment the remaining segments areadapt ed thereafter to successively receive the usual impulses whichconstitute the combinations which will select the various letters whichgo to make up the word.

At the receiving station I connect, preferably to the corresponding No.1 segment, a relay which when an impulse is received on the number 1segment of the receiving distributor, thus operating said relay, whichin turn operates .the word spacing mechanism in the printing device soas to move the printing carriage sufficiently to produce the spacingbetween words, during the time that the distributor is picking up andtransmitting the impulses from the other segments which set up theletter at the point where .this word spacing is to occur. so thatwhenever an impulse comes over the conductor with the distributing brushon this partic-' ular (No. 1) segment the word spacing mechanism will beoperated.

I have shown two methods of accomplish-- ing this. One of these methodsconsists in providing means for causing an additional operation of thespacing magnet, following the ordinary letter space in the act of letterprinting, and when so operated I arranged to send the spacing impulse atthe beginning of the letter which constitutes the beginning of thesucceeding word so that the ordinary letter spacing attheend of theletter will be immediately followed by another movement of the spacingmagnet at the beginning of the next letter which begins the next word.

Another arrangement which I have shown consists in providing for anenlarged movement of the spacing mechanism when the word spacing impulseis received so that the carriage printer is moved two spaces instead ofone in the act of printing the letter at the end of a word and in thiscase the spacing impulse will be sup lied at the beginning of the lastletter oi the Word and as apart of the letter combination.

eferring to the drawings, 0 \represents the rotating brush of thetransmitting distributor a at the transmitting station and 0 thecorresponding brush of the distributor b at the receiving station. Thesebrushes are connected together through the ordinary conductor 0connecting the stations and preferably through an interposed relay 0which repeats the impulses which come over the conductor into a localcircuit from a battery :1: and ground at 9. From the first contactsegment of distributor b, a wire Z leads to aspacing control magnet (land to ground at y. The armature d of this mag-- net is adapted when themechanism is energized to make contact at d and close a circuit throughthe spacing magnet s. This circuit being traced through wires 2 and 3battery 00, wire 4 and the armature d.

In Fig. 1, I show this spacing magnet as the same spacing magnet that isnow used for the usual letter spacing and this circuit may be readilyapplied to printing devices now already in use.

At the sending station the segments 2, 3, 4, '5, and 6 of thetransmitter are connected to the usual transmitting relays operated inthe ordinary way by the transmitter so that whenever one of these relaysis operated a current impulse of a given sign will be applied to thatparticular segment to which it is attached and will in turn be taken upby the distributor brush and transmitted over the conductor to thedistributing brush at the receiving station which will in turn transmitthis impuse through the corresponding segment on distributor b to one ofthe code bar relays e, e, 6 e 6, in the-usual way so that the automaticmovementof the spacing relay by the impulse which is applied at the"beginning of the formation of a letter at the particular point wherethe word space is to occur, will in nowise disturb the setting up of anyone or more of the 00 e bars for the letter combination, but wil priorto the letter printing, properly set up and operate the mechanismnecessary to cause the additional space to be made between words andthus obviate the necessity of sending over the conductor a s ecialcombination for' the word space as is now customary.

It will be understood that as-shown in Fig. 1 this spacing impulse istransmitted at the beginning of the letter which constitutes thebeginning of the word following the point where the space occurs andcauses the usual spacing magnet to make an extra movement immediatelyfollowing the, spacing movement automatically provided for in the act ofprinting and during the time the letter at the beginning of thesucceeding word is being set up.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a simple method of providing for thisadditional space by causing an enlarged movement of the spacing magnetso that it moves two spaces instead of one in operating the printercarriage. This is accomplished by providing an extra magnet 7 whosearmature f normally constitutes a stop to limit the spacing movement ofthe spacing mag net to one notch on the carriage. When this stop iswithdrawn this spacing movement wil be enlarged so as to cover twonotches of the carriage spacing mechanism instead of one. In this casethe impulse to operate this auxiliary magnet f will be transmitted atthe beginning of the last letter of the word so that while the lettercombination is being transmitted and the mechanism operated to set upthis particular letter, the

stop f will be withdrawn and when the operation of the spacing magnet isautomatically performed in the act of printing, it will move thecarriage two spaces instead of one, thus providing both the letter andthe word space.

so timed "as to not interfere with the letter formation therebyproducing a word space within the same time element as now occupied bythe setting up and printing of the letter itself and with thecorresponding increase in the speed of printer as noted.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 2- 1. The method ofproducing word spacing in printing telegraph systems which con-- sistsin supplying an extra impulse as a part of a lettercombination andcausing this impulse to operate mechanism at the receiving end prior toor during the time that the letter combination is being transmitted andset up so as to operate the spacing mechanism of the printer as for thepurpose specified.

2. The method of-producing Word spacing in printing telegraph systems,which consists in supplying an extra impulse as a part of a lettercombination at the sending station and causing this impulse to operatemechanism at the receiving station and utilizing this impulse foroperating the spacing mechanism to produce. an additional space at theend of a word.

3. The-method of producing Word spac-' ing in printing telegraph systemswhich consists in supplying an impulse as a part of a letter combinationto a distributor at the sending station, and distributing this impulseto a circuit at the receiving station ter combination, and means at thereceiving station for causing said additional impulse to operateseparate mechanism to modify the spacing movement of the printer as setforth.

5. In a printing system, a transmitter, means for supplying lettercombination impulses to said transmitter, and an additional impulse inconnection with certain letter combinations, a printer at a receivingstation, and atransmitter to cause said letter combination impulses tooperate said printer and separate mechanism operated by the additionalimpulse to modify the spacing movement of the printer.

6. In a. printing system, a transmitter, means for supplying lettercombination impulses, and an additional impulse in connection withcertain letter combinations to said transmitter, a distributor and aprinter at a receiving station to distribute said letter combinationimpulses and cause them to ope ate said printer and separate mechanismconnected with said distributor operated by the additional impulse toproduce an additional spacing movement of the printer when saidadditional impulse is transmitted with the letter combination inrpulses.

7. Ina printing system. a transn'iitter,

means for supplying letter combination impulses, and an additionalimpulse in connection with certain letter combinations to saidtransmitter, a distributor and a printer at a receiving station todistribute said letter combination impulses and cause them to operatesaid printer, and separate mechanism connected with said distributoroperated by the additional impulse to produce an additional spacingmovement of the printer when said additional impulse is transmitted withthe letter combination impulses.

8. In a'printing system, a transmitter,.

means for supplying current impulses representing letter combinations tosaid transmitter, and an additional impulse in connection with certainletter combinations, a distributor at a receiving station to receive anddistribute the current impulses repres enting letter combinations, and aseparate circuit connected with said distributor to which the additionalimpulse is supplied by said distributor, and a magnet in said separatecircuitoperated by said additional impulse to produce an additionalspacing movement of said printer.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 3rd day ofFebruary, 1921.

WILLIAM MANSFIELD BRUCE, .Ir.

